We see fatigued drivers in far too many 18-wheeler wrecks in West Texas. This article does a good job laying out the problem.

Every day, port trucking companies around Los Angeles put hundreds of impaired drivers on the road, pushing them to work with little or no sleep in violation of federal safety regulations, a USA TODAY Network investigation found.

Cade Browning's paper, "What is This Critter? UM/UIM Causes of Action Post-Brainard" was recently published in the Spring 2015 edition of the News for Bar, by the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas. The paper deals with the Post-Brainard world of Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage litigation in Texas and the correct causes of action available. The paper stems from years of litigating and trying underinsured cases in West Texas with complexities and confusion of the law since Brainard. ''

The horrible tractor-trailer wreck in Merkel this week reminds me of the need to fully investigate tragic wrecks such as these immediately. The trucking company has a rapid response investigation team who comes to scenes such as these hours after the wreck and so should the victim's families. This will help in preserving the evidence necessary and communicating with the Texas Department of Public Safety reconstructionists. The Browning Law Firm has the knowledge and available experts and engineers to properly protect the scene and preserve the evidence to ensure the truth is told. If you or a loved one is ever involved in a major 18-wheeler wreck, do not hesitate to contact an attorney, as time is of the essence is ensuring you are protected.

With accident rates soaring on some roads in the state's bustling oil fields, the TxDOT is stepping up efforts to lower speed limits on particularly dangerous routes. Under a recently adopted emergency rule change, the agency can decide in four weeks to reduce speed limits by up to 12 miles per hour on some roads, bypassing its normal review process that typically takes months. The change only covers rural two-lane, two-way roads that are less than 24 feet wide and are part of the state highway system. Traffic spawned by the state's drilling boom has made small roads in oil areas increasingly hazardous.

Ted Houghton, chairman of the state Transportation Commission, has called on Texas officials to address motor vehicle deaths and multiple-fatality crashes involving trucks and other commercial vehicles that have accompanied the state's oil and natural gas boom since 2008. His remarks came in response to an investigation by the Houston Chronicle and Houston Public Media that documented significant increases in traffic deaths in shale drilling areas and urban hubs across Texas. Between 2009 and 2013, Texas traffic fatalities climbed 8 percent from 3,122 to 3,378, even as traffic fatalities in most other states continued to decline. Traffic deaths linked to commercial vehicle crashes in Texas have risen by 51 percent, from 352 in 2009 to 532 in 2013, the investigation found.

Fatal truck accidents like the one that killed Dan Lindner's family are all too common—happening nearly 11 times every single day in this country on average, and killing nearly 4,000 people each year, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

On top of that, more than 100,000 people are injured every year in truck crashes. That's as bad as if a commuter jet crashed every single week of the year, killing everyone on board. And the numbers have been getting worse: Truck-crash fatalities have increased since 2009, as an improving economy leads to more goods being shipped on American highways and more pressure being placed on trucking companies—and drivers—to get the loads delivered on time.

According to the Texas Department of Transportation, the oil-booming Permian Basin saw a 13 percent increase in roadside deaths from 2012-2013. Last week, a victims’ rights coalition in Midland held a panel discussion on how to deal with the region’s increasingly dangerous roads. Organizers of the event say most of those wrecks stem from the “3 D’s” – drugs, drinking and distracted driving. But the oil and gas boom in the Basin is compounding those dangers. Mdland County Sheriff Gary Painter says it’s hard to keep the roads safe because of the number of inexperienced drivers getting behind the wheels of big trucks.

NPR (6/6, Detrow) reported on its website that the US "Department of Transportation is clarifying a new rule regulating how much time truck drivers hauling materials to and from" oil and gas "drilling sites can spend on the road." According to the report, "drivers are limited to 14 hours a day, and the DOT says time spent loading and unloading material needs to count toward that limit." NPR reports that this "clarification comes two weeks after a New York Times report about how many drivers were working more than 14 hours by not counting on-site time."

The Browning Law Firm serves clients throughout the State of Texas including but limited to the cities of Abilene, Sweetwater, Anson, Albany, Baird, Clyde, Merkel, Buffalo Gap, Tuscola, Lawn, Santa Anna, Coleman, Cisco, Hawley, Haskell, Aspermont, Robert E. Lee, Cleburne, Decatur, Weatherford, Graham, Breckenridge, San Angelo, Sonora, Ozona, Colorado City, Big Spring, Snyder, Throckmorton, Brownwood, Nolan, Tye, Trent, Mason, Brady, Ballinger, Comanche, Eastland, Fort Stockton, Roscoe, Big Lake, Brady, and Junction. Counties include but are not limited to Taylor County, Nolan County, Eastland County, Palo Pinto County, Jones County, Shackelford County, Haskell County, Throckmorton County, Kent County, Stonewall County, Fisher County, Johnson County, Parker County, Brown County, Howard County, Pecos County, Stephens County, Mason County, McCulloch County, Coke County, Tom Green County, Mitchell County, Concho County, Coleman County, Wise County, Jack County, Erath County, Runnels County, Callahan County, Reeves County, Andrews County, Baylor County, Archer County, Young County, Ector County, Midland County, and Crane County.